June 22, 2018 3:32PM # Could Inefficiency Balance Out Overregulation? By [David Boaz](https://www.cato.org/people/david-boaz) --- SHARE The top left-hand [story](https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/social-issues/dc-motions-to-dismiss-a-lawsuit-over-its-controversial-education-requirements-for-child-care-workers/2018/06/21/c5279d0e-74b3-11e8-805c-4b67019fcfe4_story.html?utm_term=.1b2d57a99ab3) on the front page of the Metro section of today’s Washington Post: > Lawyers for the District argued Wednesday for the dismissal of a lawsuit that challenges city regulations requiring some child-care workers to obtain associate degrees or risk losing their jobs.… > > > The requirements … stipulate that child-care center directors must earn bachelor’s degrees and assistant teachers and home-care providers must earn Child Development Associate (CDA) certificates. Meanwhile, just across the page, [in the top right-hand space](https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/about-a-quarter-of-dc-public-schools-lack-required-certification/2018/06/21/28da8d84-74dc-11e8-805c-4b67019fcfe4_story.html?utm_term=.0a4f9cbeb5c8): > About 1,000 teachers in D.C. Public Schools — a quarter of the educator workforce — lack certification the city requires to lead a classroom, according to District education leaders. So how about this compromise: the child-care licensing requirement will go into effect, but it will be enforced by the crack management team at DC Public Schools? ##### Related Tags [Education](https://www.cato.org/education), [Government and Politics](https://www.cato.org/government-politics), [Regulation](https://www.cato.org/regulatory-studies), [Center for Educational Freedom](https://www.cato.org/center-educational-freedom) [![Creative Commons License](/build/cato_2020/images/creative-commons.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).